Immigrants are holding up the Kansas dairy industry
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This is Kansas City Today. I'm Nomeen Oujieddin. Today is Thursday, August 27th. Coming up, Kansas has one of the fastest growing dairy industries in the country. The state has added almost 50,000 milk cows to its herd in just the last year. And all that growth requires immigrant labor to keep up with the demand.
I don't think ag growth in those rural communities in western Kansas can really happen without immigrant labor.
We'll hear how Kansas grew its dairy industry with the help of immigrant workers. But first, some headlines. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says a recent $600 million public commitment to a downtown ballpark is a good investment. KCUR's Salisa Kalakul has more.
Under the development deal approved last week, Kansas City would cover 60% of the stadium project costs. The deal also leaves the city to cover any funding shortfalls. In all, more than a billion dollars from the city and state are expected to go to the development. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told KCUR's UpToDate he thinks a downtown stadium is worth it. I still believe that is incredibly additive. This is a positive for Kansas City. It's a positive economically. If you're into vibes, it's a positive in that way, too. The Beacon reports the new stadium could end up being the fourth most expensive Major League ballpark ever built.
The Port Authority of Kansas City approved a $1.5 billion package to redevelop the Country Club Plaza earlier this week. Port Casey voted to authorize bonds and significant tax breaks for the owners of the plaza. But Kansas City public school leaders say the breaks could impact school funding. Port Casey President and CEO John Stevens acknowledged the district's concerns, but says the investments need to be made.
This is not just a historic shopping center. It's an entire neighborhood. If that entire neighborhood continues to struggle, we're sacrificing a lot of neighbors, a lot of community members.
Commissioners must approve formal bond authorizations for each of the project's construction phases. The first phase is expected to begin this fall. The redevelopment would include taller buildings and hundreds of new hotel rooms and apartments over the next 15 years. Lucas told KCUR that making the plaza more resident and pedestrian-friendly would be a good thing.
I want it to be a place that's dynamic, that's growing for Kansas City, that's diverse, and that's bringing more people to the plaza than perhaps we've ever had.
The developers' property tax exemptions would gradually decrease over the next 30 years. The plan could also include payments to public schools and libraries. Wyandotte County continues to assess the cost of repairs after a storm on August 18th swept the area. Executive Director Edgar Galicia of the Central Area Betterment Association says the county will be eligible for federal assistance, but only if the cost of local repairs exceeds $5 million. Galicia says countywide recovery efforts will take time.
One of the biggest challenges is the cost of repairs and the cost of bringing normalcy back to communities.
Galicia says the county is calling for volunteers, particularly to handle machinery or chainsaws and to help log the cost of storm damage. Topeka Public Schools will stop creating student gender support plans and allow parents to review existing plans for transgender students under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education. Zach Boblett has more.
The plans outline how staff will support a student's gender identity, including their name and pronouns. The district will remove guidance that could keep parents from knowing if their child uses a different name or pronouns at school.
How do the local headlines about stadium funding and redevelopment set the stage?
The changes follow a federal education department investigation that found Topeka Public Schools policies violated parents' rights to access their children's school records.
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